Power companies can seize private land for AI data centers as 70% of Americans oppose construction

Power companies can seize private land to make way for new AI data center transmission lines, report says -- takeovers could be implemented using eminent domain law when private citizens refuse to sell land

Eminent domain can force land sales regardless of the owner's consent A report by The Conversation has claimed that power companies can seize private land to make way for new transmission lines needed to meet the surging electricity demand of data centers. According to the July 16 report by Aaron Walayat, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Dayton, power companies can use eminent domain -- the legal authority that grants the government the power to take private property and convert it to public use in exchange for compensation -- to implement the takeovers. The AI boom has led to a surge in data centers in the U.S., with thousands already operational and several more planned or under construction. While the massive superclusters are necessary for the technological revolution AI has brought about, there's growing opposition to their construction over several concerns. Among them are land use, noise pollution, water usage, and the impact of immense electricity consumption, issues that have reportedly made 70% of Americans opposed to building data centers nearby. In many instances, data centers draw the required electricity from the grid. As the industry enters the gigawatt era, utility companies are under pressure to increase supply to meet surging demand. This requires building new power infrastructure, such as transmission lines, which often have to cross private land. When this happens, the power companies try to buy the land. Should the owner refuse, the government can force a sale through the eminent domain law. The law grants the government the power to take private land, regardless of the owner's consent, provided that the land is for public use and the owner receives just compensation. The government can also delegate the power to "private entities or common carriers," such as utility companies. It is this legal authority that power companies can enact to implement the takeovers. According to the report, the law does not automatically grant infallible authority. The company must prove that the infrastructure will be for public use. Several states also reserve the right to interpret eminent domain laws according to their own constitutions. The report highlights another layer of legalities amid ongoing data center tensions. Opponents have successfully blocked 75 planned data center projects in the first quarter of 2026, including the 2,100-acre Digital Gateway project, eventually canceled over a newspaper-notice technicality. On the other hand, several other projects have gone ahead, often with community support. Meta recently announced plans to expand its Hyperion AI supercluster from 2 GW to 5 GW. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.

Can a power company take your land to support a data center? It depends

The artificial intelligence boom in the United States is being matched by a data center building boom. There are more than 3,000 data centers in the U.S. and another 1,500 in development, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. While President Donald Trump has promoted AI advancement, calling it crucial to economic and national security, polling shows that 7 in 10 Americans oppose the construction of AI data centers in their communities, citing higher utility bills, pollution, noise and the loss of green space. These centers, which hold computer servers that process words, images and lines of code for large language models such as ChatGPT, also use high amounts of water and electricity. There is growing opposition to the infrastructure surrounding them, too, particularly the transmission lines needed to power them, which often must cross land belonging to private citizens. Where private citizens refuse to sell their land, companies are turning to eminent domain, the government's inherent power to seize private property without a landowner's consent. But does a line built to serve a private data center qualify? I'm a legal scholar who studies eminent domain issues, and I interpret today's disputes over seizure of property for the benefit of AI infrastructure as the latest incarnation of a long-standing debate about the limits of taking private property for public use. Why is expansion needed? Data centers have massive power needs that can stress electrical grids and threaten their reliability. In 2024 they accounted for more than 4% of the nation's total electricity use. Demand will grow as more are built. To meet this demand, power companies must build more transmission lines - and acquire land to put them on. Across the U.S. - in states such as Georgia and Pennsylvania - power companies have looked to eminent domain to facilitate these goals. What is eminent domain? Power companies can approach landowners to purchase easements for transmission lines; if landowners refuse, the government might force a sale. The government may take private land without consent if the seizure is for "public use" and if the landowner is given "just compensation," according to the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. While the federal government has the power to initiate eminent domain actions - also called condemnations - most are done by state and local governments. Governments can also delegate this power to private entities or "common carriers," such as power and water companies, though every state has its own rules for whether and how these utilities can exercise eminent domain. In Texas, for example, the state Supreme Court has held that a project must "serve the public" and "cannot be built only for the builder's exclusive use" in order to qualify as a common carrier. What is the 'public use' standard? While property may be taken only for "public use," the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted that requirement permissively. In its 2005 Kelo v. City of New London decision, the court held that economic development qualified, allowing New London, Connecticut, to seize homes for private development around a Pfizer facility. That redevelopment, however, never happened, and Pfizer eventually left New London. In response to that decision - and the public backlash that followed - 45 states enacted eminent domain reform laws. In addition to reform laws, some state supreme courts interpret the eminent domain provisions of their own state constitutions more restrictively. The supreme courts of Michigan, Ohio and Oklahoma have all prohibited seizing private property to give it to another private party purely for economic development. This means private landowners may have more success challenging condemnation actions under their state constitutions than in federal court. Still, courts typically permit exercise of eminent domain by utilities such as power companies. What does this mean for data center expansion? Suits challenging the seizure of property for transmission lines on the grounds of public use have mixed results. For example, the supreme courts of South Dakota and Vermont have each affirmed seizures by power companies, determining that providing at least some energy and improved power grid reliability to in-state customers were valid public uses. But this argument changes if transmission lines, some of which cross state lines, don't benefit anyone in the state. In 1984, for example, the Mississippi Supreme Court rejected a power company's condemnation action because the transmission line in question would have run from Mississippi into Louisiana without benefiting any Mississippi customers. These decisions suggest that as data centers increase energy demand and stress current infrastructure, seizing land to improve power grid reliability will likely qualify as public use, especially if the intention is to secure reliability for in-state customers. Still, arguments around whether additional transmission lines actually serve in-state customers may give landowners grounds for a challenge.

When can a power company take your land for a data center?

The Conversation is an independent, nonprofit news organization bringing readers facts and analysis from researchers and scientists to help them make sense of a complex world. The artificial intelligence boom in the United States is being matched by a data center building boom. There are more than 3,000 data centers in the U.S. and another 1,500 in development, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. While President Donald Trump has promoted AI advancement, calling it crucial to economic and national security, polling shows that 7 in 10 Americans oppose the construction of AI data centers in their communities, citing higher utility bills, pollution, noise and the loss of green space. These centers, which hold computer servers that process words, images and lines of code for large language models such as ChatGPT, also use high amounts of water and electricity. There is growing opposition to the infrastructure surrounding them, too, particularly the transmission lines needed to power them, which often must cross land belonging to private citizens. Submit a guest post to Ripple Want to contribute to Ripple? Share your idea with us here and we'll provide guidance and feedback. Successful pieces may be featured on the site. Where private citizens refuse to sell their land, companies are turning to eminent domain, the government's inherent power to seize private property without a landowner's consent. But does a line built to serve a private data center qualify? I'm a legal scholar who studies eminent domain issues, and I interpret today's disputes over seizure of property for the benefit of AI infrastructure as the latest incarnation of a long-standing debate about the limits of taking private property for public use. Data centers have massive power needs that can stress electrical grids and threaten their reliability. In 2024 they accounted for more than 4% of the nation's total electricity use. Demand will grow as more are built. To meet this demand, power companies must build more transmission lines - and acquire land to put them on. Across the U.S. - in states such as Georgia and Pennsylvania - power companies have looked to eminent domain to facilitate these goals. Power companies can approach landowners to purchase easements for transmission lines; if landowners refuse, the government might force a sale. The government may take private land without consent if the seizure is for "public use" and if the landowner is given "just compensation," according to the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. While the federal government has the power to initiate eminent domain actions - also called condemnations - most are done by state and local governments. Governments can also delegate this power to private entities or "common carriers," such as power and water companies, though every state has its own rules for whether and how these utilities can exercise eminent domain. In Texas, for example, the state Supreme Court has held that a project must "serve the public" and "cannot be built only for the builder's exclusive use" in order to qualify as a common carrier. While property may be taken only for "public use," the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted that requirement permissively. In its 2005 Kelo v. City of New London decision, the court held that economic development qualified, allowing New London, Connecticut, to seize homes for private development around a Pfizer facility. That redevelopment, however, never happened, and Pfizer eventually left New London. In response to that decision - and the public backlash that followed - 45 states enacted eminent domain reform laws. In addition to reform laws, some state supreme courts interpret the eminent domain provisions of their own state constitutions more restrictively. The supreme courts of Michigan, Ohio and Oklahoma have all prohibited seizing private property to give it to another private party purely for economic development. This means private landowners may have more success challenging condemnation actions under their state constitutions than in federal court. Still, courts typically permit exercise of eminent domain by utilities such as power companies. Suits challenging the seizure of property for transmission lines on the grounds of public use have mixed results. For example, the supreme courts of South Dakota and Vermont have each affirmed seizures by power companies, determining that providing at least some energy and improved power grid reliability to in-state customers were valid public uses. But this argument changes if transmission lines, some of which cross state lines, don't benefit anyone in the state. In 1984, for example, the Mississippi Supreme Court rejected a power company's condemnation action because the transmission line in question would have run from Mississippi into Louisiana without benefiting any Mississippi customers. These decisions suggest that as data centers increase energy demand and stress current infrastructure, seizing land to improve power grid reliability will likely qualify as public use, especially if the intention is to secure reliability for in-state customers. Still, arguments around whether additional transmission lines actually serve in-state customers may give landowners grounds for a challenge. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Aaron Walayat, University of Dayton Aaron Walayat does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

70% of Americans don't want data centers built nearby, but the government is seizing private property to force construction to start

* The US government is using 'eminent domain' to force landowners to sell property to make way for new data center infrastructure * Power companies are turning to the government as a last resort for acquiring land needed for power transmission projects * Americans are not happy with the mass buildout of new AI data centers It's no secret that there is a big divide between AI companies looking to expand capacity and the general public who don't want a data center constructed in their back yard, particularly in the US. Recent polling has put that number up to as many as 7 in 10 Americans who are opposed to data center construction, with environmental concerns and reductions in quality of life cited as the biggest reasons. But AI companies and energy firms alike are reportedly turning to 'eminent domain' - the government's ability to seize the private property of landholders without the need for the owner's consent. Government seizing private property Eminent domain has typically been reserved for critical infrastructure projects including power and transport, alongside government projects and public utilities. Eminent domain was also famously used to seize land for the construction of the Minuteman nuclear missile deterrent across the United States during the Cold War. Drawing on a similar patriotic tone expressed during the construction of silos in the 1960s, President Donald Trump has said that the development of AI technologies is crucial to the national security and economic security of the US, and therefore capacity must be expanded. As data centers require enormous amounts of electricity in order to function, they require dedicated power lines and infrastructure connections. In order to construct this infrastructure, power companies approach local landowners and offer to buy the land upon which the power lines will be built. However, if the landowners say no, the power companies can call on the government to use its power of eminent domain. The Fifth Amendment of the US constitution requires the government to provide the landowner with "just compensation," generally based on fair market value for similar property in the local area. Data centers accounted for roughly 10-20% of US electricity consumption in 2024, with that number having risen significantly since then. Some data centers under construction will use more power than some US cities, such as Meta's Hyperion campus in Louisiana which is expected to consume three times the power consumed by the city of New Orleans. Some states have been more prolific in their use of eminent domain, with residents in Georgia being forced to sell property to the Georgia Power transmission project - a capacity expansion that will primarily benefit data centers. Other landowners in Maryland have begun erecting signs on their property that state, "No eminent domain for corporate gain." The opposition to data centers is fast becoming a people versus the government issue, with many complaining that AI companies are becoming extremely wealthy without providing any benefit for the average working class American - something that Senator Bernie Sanders hopes to remediate with an AI sovereign wealth fund that would force AI companies to offer up 50% of their stock to be used to fund projects that benefit Americans. Via Fortune Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.